Observations focused on the problems of an underdeveloped country, Venezuela, with some serendipity about the world (orchids, techs, science, investments, politics) at large. A famous Venezuelan, Juan Pablo Perez Alfonzo, referred to oil as the devil's excrement. For countries, easy wealth appears indeed to be the sure path to failure. Venezuela might be a clear example of that.

Archive for February 21st, 2005

I may not like Antonio Ledezma much, but I have more respect for him now than I used to, because I always saw him at the opposition marches, even when tear gas was all over the place. And his statements today were also quite good:

“Chavez once again lifted the cover of the pot in which supposedly an attempt on his life is being cooked and we sed that the President debates himslef between hate and love. When it is not Condoleezza Rice, who is after him with love, it is President Bush who is cooking up an attempt on the life of Chavez…what is killing the Government, is precisely the irresponsibility of the duties with the country. Chávez, instead of making up these scandals denouncing these magnicides, should declare a national emergency given this tragedy…this is all a tactic to hide events of interest to Venezuelans and in this case we could talk about the purchase of frigates from Spain for 600 million euros for four of them, when the country is facing this tragedy…What we should be getting is tractors and the materials needed to build housing , once and for all, for all these people who they had promisedmore than once a housing plan, that nobody sees anywhere”

I could only cringe reading today’s interview with the current Vice-Minister of Science. I love it when people who have never even done any form of science pontificate about what should be done with the country’s science.

The Vice-Minister also held important positions in Caldera’s Government but managed the transition quite well and continues holding important positions and saying the same ignorant statements such as:

“We will power up research that has a social character”

(This from the same people who fired 80% of Venezuela’s team of scientists that worked on heavy crudes for political reasons. BTW, most of them are now in Canada, Venezuela’s biggest competitor in heavy crudes)

“We have researchers that never publish in local journals”

(Could it be because they want their peers to read them and our journals are mostly crappy? Of course, he has never published anything important, how would he know?)

Then comes the inconsistency:

“We are convinced that without basic sciences there is no adequate scientific development”

Hold it! If you need basic sciences and then you have to relate them to the problems of the country, doesn’t that leave some basic sciences out, say Math and Physics? But he gets deeper into hot water:

“…now is basic science around the fundamental problems of Venezuelans”

Sorry Mr. Marcano, with that definition, you simply show you have no clue what science is about. Fortunately, you proceed to prove it:

“Academic Freedom does not exist. It is a vision of XIXth. century, science each times it grows links itself with power”

I think he should publish this, the extinction of Academic Freedom is too important a matter for academics not to know about it. And to think I was a scientist in the US and Venezuela in the XIXth. Century and did not know it. I always had academic freedom!

I also love the fact that what he mentions first as plans for the year, is a blood processing plant that has been around for over ten years! In fact, it existed well before I abandoned science 12 years ago, was founded in 1985 and has been functioning for fifteen years!

Finally, he talks about using image processing to watch rivers and floods and how they will now acquire new cameras for this. Well, in 1984, I was a founder of the Engineering Institute where we started the first image processing center in Venezuela. Guess where these images of rivers and floods will be processed?

These guys are so ignorant, they think they have discovered the wheel! Where do they find them?

I could only cringe reading today’s interview with the current Vice-Minister of Science. I love it when people who have never even done any form of science pontificate about what should be done with the country’s science.

The Vice-Minister also held important positions in Caldera’s Government but managed the transition quite well and continues holding important positions and saying the same ignorant statements such as:

“We will power up research that has a social character”

(This from the same people who fired 80% of Venezuela’s team of scientists that worked on heavy crudes for political reasons. BTW, most of them are now in Canada, Venezuela’s biggest competitor in heavy crudes)

“We have researchers that never publish in local journals”

(Could it be because they want their peers to read them and our journals are mostly crappy? Of course, he has never published anything important, how would he know?)

Then comes the inconsistency:

“We are convinced that without basic sciences there is no adequate scientific development”

Hold it! If you need basic sciences and then you have to relate them to the problems of the country, doesn’t that leave some basic sciences out, say Math and Physics? But he gets deeper into hot water:

“…now is basic science around the fundamental problems of Venezuelans”

Sorry Mr. Marcano, with that definition, you simply show you have no clue what science is about. Fortunately, you proceed to prove it:

“Academic Freedom does not exist. It is a vision of XIXth. century, science each times it grows links itself with power”

I think he should publish this, the extinction of Academic Freedom is too important a matter for academics not to know about it. And to think I was a scientist in the US and Venezuela in the XIXth. Century and did not know it. I always had academic freedom!

I also love the fact that what he mentions first as plans for the year, is a blood processing plant that has been around for over ten years! In fact, it existed well before I abandoned science 12 years ago, was founded in 1985 and has been functioning for fifteen years!

Finally, he talks about using image processing to watch rivers and floods and how they will now acquire new cameras for this. Well, in 1984, I was a founder of the Engineering Institute where we started the first image processing center in Venezuela. Guess where these images of rivers and floods will be processed?

These guys are so ignorant, they think they have discovered the wheel! Where do they find them?